Jennifer Hatchett ’95, an English major who is now executive director of YouthServe, was presented with one of three Distinguished Alumni Awards at Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday. Her acceptance remarks touched on a theme we’re highlighting this month — connection — as part of our celebration of The Year of the Ginkgo.

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I recently read a book called “The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars.”

The premise is that at some point, early humans looked up at the sky and began to notice patterns — in the skies, in the seasons — communicating in some way to discuss the cause and effect of that movement, which in turn created the first communities. This gave pass to human spirituality, the first shaman, the first artists, then navigation and travel.

The book traces the rise of civilization in relation to the cosmos from physics to quantum physics to artificial intelligence and its connection to artistic, political, and social movements.

It caused me to think about how truly everything in our world is so connected — how every decision we have ever made as a people brought us here, and how important it is to understand how all these pieces fit together to illustrate who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. I believe it is understanding this connection which has always driven my professional interests.

In my work, I am surrounded by young people who are consumed with decisions about college. The pressure is enormous to think of education as purely transactional. You go to school to get a job, right?

Of course, that is important, but how much of what we understand about the world, about our history and our humanity, should also be part of how we approach our work?

How much better are we at our jobs when we apply critical thinking to everyday tasks – when we ask all the whys?

What if everything we do as accountants, social workers, nurses, truck drivers, teachers, and non-profit leaders was really part of something much bigger than ourselves?

What if it’s a chance to look up and wonder together about what could be?

What if it’s a chance move humanity forward, ever?

I am so very grateful to my amazing family and friends for being here today. But more importantly, I am so grateful for the amazing liberal arts education I received here at BSC.